Catrina's Best of the Midwest Tour Part 2

So, after a couple days adventuring around the Twin Cities, we then took a little road trip to see more of the Upper Midwest. My dad and Brenda bought a camper at the beginning of the summer and have it parked down by the Root River, they've been after me to come see it when I'm home. So we spent a night with them at the camper, it was another gorgeous evening so we ate outside and had a nice dinner of grilled brats, corn on the cob, fresh tomatoes, and sundry other things. Then we went into Lanesboro for some ice cream, and to walk around and see the town a bit:



Then back to the camper for a bonfire, where I fumbled my way through some songs (haven't been playing much this summer, and while I could still remember chord progressions, I was struggling to remember the song lyrics that went with them):



Next morning Brenda made us a nice breakfast - it started out as pastries, then "You guys better eat some protein or you'll be hungry in a couple of hours" so she put some bacon and sausage on the skillet, then all of a sudden she came out with a bowl full of scrambled eggs. Dad warned us to get out of there before she started making French Toast :), so we got on the road toward Chicago, stopping for a while in Madison so we could visit with Nick and Acacia, who took us on a nice walk with a good view of the city:



We arrived in the Chicago 'burbs in the evening and had a fabulous dinner of Chicken Cacciatore with Sarah's family, who were gracious enough to host us for a couple of days. The following morning we caught the commuter train to Union Station and spent a whole day exploring the city. . .man, what didn't we do? We tried to see the stock exchange, but discovered visitors are no longer allowed near the pit (since 9/11). But, we did see Millenium Park:



some highlights at the Art Institute, the Sears (er, Willis) Tower (including the scary glass boxes - I was too chicken to go in, but both Adri and Burki stood in them):







and the Shedd Aquarium. We discovered the Museum Park area has a great view of the skyline:





We tried to go to the top of the Hancock Tower also, but our "Go Chicago" cards ran out at 5:30 pm, and we didn't get there until 6 pm. So we walked a good chunk of the Magnificent Mile back down to the Burghoff, where we had dinner. Then it was back to Union Station to catch the train back to the Gioe's, where we recounted our day over dessert (the Gioes are a very pro-dessert family, which is one of the many things I love about them!). Then, it was time to put this very full day to rest.

More to come, including: Milwaukee, Door County, and the Happiest Place on Earth. . .stay tuned!